Synonyms
by mythweaver1
Summary: FFIV TAY. Being a child and acting like one is a notion Cuore has a hard time deciphering. She is a Maenad, after all-a copy. Or can she be more than what she was made to be?
1. Synonyms

A/N: Because Moonclaw didn't believe I could write something that wasn't non-dark, depressing or violent, lol ;P

This is a gift!fic for her (Hey, I finished something reasonably on time! ...or started it at least!)

As mentioned on my profile, Cuore is the ultimate plot bunny. This is the first of several snippets involving her, and, I must admit...she is very addicting to write about :D

Expect multiple (short) chapters as I get them finished over the week...p.s. they get more adorable by the chapter ;)

Thanks for reading, and have a safe holiday!

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Synonyms

Every day since their second home-coming from the moon was a novelty for Rydia. Her adopted daughter was pragmatic and highly sensitive to the world around her. Her shortly cropped teal hair was growing in quickly, like deep ocean waves, and her darting gaze captured everything like a falcon spotting prey. She was quiet, but never still, and Rydia watched the girl, hoping to guide her growing inquisitiveness with the answers she wished she'd had as a girl.

Rydia remembered how she had felt after her abrupt departure from the Feymarch-like a child in adult trappings-and then there was Cuore, a child who had never been taught to be a child; and who possessed a gravitas well beyond her years. Rydia was amazed at her ability to assimilate new information with mechanical efficiency, but amused that despite her knowledge, the simplest things were a source of consternation for the small Maenad child.

Cuore categorized her small world with clinical ambivalence. Household items were all rearranged and sorted by size, shape, and apparent use, and then rearranged in different configurations depending on her mood.

Rydia had spent many days trying to convince Cuore that not all vessels with curved bottoms were bowls, and had then watched with raised brow and growing concern, as Cuore then assessed each vessel by substance as well as form.

"You desire the metal dishes to be kept on hooks rather than shelves," the girl observed, nonplussed, as she hurried about on bare feet to rearrange the kitchen for the third time in two days.

"Cuore, I think it was time you explored outside the house," Rydia suggested, hoping to get her out of the kitchen long enough for order to be restored.

"Are you not pleased with my organization?" Cuore asked.

Rydia folded her slender arms, sighing, and took a moment to survey the kitchen with dismay. "No, Cuore. I'm not pleased."

"Should the utensils be placed elsewhere?" Cuore asked determinedly, and was about to march forward, but Rydia reached out and gripped her by the shoulder. Cuore paused to look up at her curiously.

"Cuore, sometimes-sometimes it isn't polite to move other people's things without their permission," Rydia informed her.

"But now all of the wooden implements are together and the metal-"

"Cuore, listen to me," Rydia said, placing her hands on either sides of the girl's face. "Just because you don't understand someone else's system of organization doesn't meant that there isn't a system."

Cuore chewed on her lip and frowned, trying to stare at the kitchen through Rydia's fingers with feverish impatience.

"Go outside," Rydia suggested again, turning her toward the door. "Play with the other children."

Cuore spun to look at her, distressed. "But the other children have no understanding of logic," she complained, pouting.

"Cuore, you don't need logic to have fun," Rydia sighed.

"Logic is essential in all aspects of life," Cuore contradicted.

Rydia shooed her out of the house, closing the door and holding it shut long to dash Cuore's hope of retreat. When the door latch ceased jiggling in protest, Rydia released it, wishing that Cuore would take the opportunity to interact with other humans, instead of familiarizing herself with inanimate objects. She had been hiding in the house for weeks, and Rydia was in need of a change of pace; and, for that matter, so was Cuore.

An hour passed in blissful silence, and with the kitchen set to rights again, Rydia curiously approached the window that overlooked the village square. She smiled as she watched the children playing there chase a small ball across the square, but as she watched, her smile slowly faded as she failed to see the familiar teal haired girl playing among the rest.

She opened the door to begin searching for Cuore, but she didn't have to travel far, before she found her curled up on the ground beside the house, her knees drawn to her chest as she rocked slowly back and forth counting numbers to herself.

Rydia sat down beside her, prying Cuore's hands loose from her knees.

"Cuore," Rydia prodded, eventually getting the girl to look at her. "What happened?"

Cuore's steely gray gaze looked up at her, and if it had been within her emotional vocabulary to cry, Rydia imagined there would be tears on her cheeks.

"Too much-too much chaos," she said haltingly. "The grass, the earth, the house, the buildings, the people, the sun, the wind, the noise, the scents-it's too much!"

Rydia looked at her sympathetically, wishing she could make this transition easier.

"Cuore, I'm sorry-" she started to say, but Cuore swiped her hands away and stood.

"Sorry for what?" she demanded. "That I am incomplete?"

The little Maenad child stomped into the house, and Rydia stared after her sadly. How could she explain to such an old soul that the world was not an endless warehouse of labels and lists, but a world of magic, and wonder, and even joy?

Rydia stood, staring for a moment at the village children laughing in the midday sun.

How could she teach the little girl in her keeping how to be a child?


	2. Impermanence

Moar preface:

I highly recommend reading Moonclaw's fic "Imperfection" to get an idea for where this depiction of Cuore is coming from.

This is post TAY, and is basically a glimpse into how a human copy would react when faced with the complexities of human emotion and a non-sterile environment.

Basically, if you've seen Star Trek...I think of Cuore as a little Borg...only...with a bit more precocity.

As for other inquiries as to where this fic came from-I cite heat delirium, lol. Stay cool, everyone! D:

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Impermanence

Rydia hadn't realized how difficult it would be to raise a daughter on her own, let alone, one so complex as Cuore.

Four months had passed and Cuore had cycled through habits as quickly as she could discover them. For weeks, she had taken to sleeping on the floor in Rydia's bedroom, and when Rydia put a stop to that, Cuore insisted she would sleep in her own bed only if Rydia would stay by her through the night. Then there had been Cuore's complete disdain for shoes and the disappearance of all footwear from the house; the discovery of whistling, and the uprooting and dissection of all plants potted or otherwise.

There were ruffled feathers and inadvertently hurt feelings, but eventually, they settled into a routine of sorts.

Gone were the mornings of tearing apart and reconfiguring the house, and in their place, Cuore had adopted to keeping a daily inventory. Each morning, she would tread barefoot through the house, tapping each item with her forefinger like a curator inspecting the contents of her museum.

Rydia would watch from her chair in the kitchen with bemusement, drinking her morning tea, as Cuore flitted in and out of each room on her tip-toes, muttering such things to herself as, "sundries", "furniture", "utensils", and "decorations". When she had finished with her inspection, she would climb into her chair at the table and join Rydia for breakfast with a contented sigh.

"Cuore," Rydia said one day, studying the little girl sitting across from her as she inspected her porridge rather than eating it. Cuore's spoon teetered precariously in her hand a good distance from her bowl, as the girl leveled her curious gray-eyed stare on the summoner.

"Why do you do this every morning?" Rydia inquired. "Are you expecting something to change while you're asleep?"

Cuore looked at her dumbfounded, her expression slackening as her spoon returned safely to its bowl.

"My sisters fell asleep and did not wake up," she answered automatically. "I must have a purpose in order to continue my existence. I do not want to be terminated."

"Cuore," Rydia sighed, trying to justify her daughter's heartfelt desire with the matter-of-fact expression on her face. "You're not going to disappear."

"_He_ didn't come back," Cuore justly pointed out, and Rydia blanched, knowing precisely to whom she was referring.

Rydia stared at her hands in her lap, a sad smile on her lips. "Some people must spend their lives apart from each other," she said. "That doesn't mean that they cease to exist."

"Then why does it feel that way?" Cuore asked simply.

Rydia looked at Cuore, amazed at the girl's frank assessment. "When someone we-care about says goodbye and leaves us for a while, we become lonely," Rydia fumbled over the words, feeling her face redden as she spoke them. "We're lonely because we miss that person," she continued, hoping this was making sense to the girl who was studying her intently.

"We miss them?" Cuore asked. "Because they are missing?"

Rydia laughed, smoothing her hands across the tabletop. "Yes, Cuore. Because they are missing."

Cuore shifted in her chair, frowning, and considered her porridge.

"I look forward to his continued existence once he is found again," Cuore announced, jabbing her spoon into her porridge with vigor and lifting it to her mouth.

Rydia shook her head, smiling. "So do I," she agreed.

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Despite their talk, and despite Rydia's hopes that Cuore had learned not to fear the impermanence of objects when they had left her sight; it took several more weeks for Cuore to abandon the habit completely.

Cuore eventually came to breakfast without detour; engaged in conversation occasionally, and even most of Rydia's shoes had been returned. Rydia regarded the girl as an entirely new person, one who was becoming definitively more childlike than before; and wondered if, at long last, their difficulties were finally over.

It had not occurred to her, however, that Cuore's mental inventory, the tally sheet she kept in her mind to construct and define her world, contained one important and pivotal entry.

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One morning, Rydia's routine was the one to change when she realized her pantry was empty before their morning meal. She had gone to the miller's to purchase flour, gone just long enough for Cuore to awaken and come to the table to find it empty.

When Rydia opened the door, pushing it closed with her foot so that the latch snicked back into its groove, she was entirely unprepared for the teal-haired projectile that promptly hurled itself against her abdomen, robbing her of breath.

Rydia gasped, dropping her sack of flour, and rested both hands on her adopted daughter's shoulders in surprise.

"Cuore?" she asked, looking down.

The little girl peered up at her with a sincerely distressed expression, and then clutched Rydia's homespun dress with balled fists.

"What is it?" Rydia insisted.

Cuore rested her head against Rydia's stomach, utterly relieved.

"Found," she sighed. "You were missing, but I found you."

Rydia ruffled the girl's feathery hair, feeling unexpected tears come to her eyes. "I'm here, Cuore," she answered with a smile.

When Cuore finally released her waist, she looked up at Rydia very seriously.

"I _missed _you," she announced.

Rydia brushed her thumb across Cuore's forehead, considering the girl in front of her, before stooping down so that she could look her in the eyes. "Cuore, even if I'm not here, I promise you, I will never be far away."

"Promise?" Cuore insisted.

"Promise," Rydia replied.

Cuore suddenly smiled, and Rydia retrieved her sack of flour from the floor, only to have Cuore grab her free hand and drag her forward.

"Breakfast?" the girl asked eagerly.

Rydia grinned. "Breakfast," she agreed.


	3. Fables

And this is when my geography classes come back to bite me in the arse...haha.

Not sure how this chapter got so long...but I kind of...got caught up in it :)

Also-YAY VACATIONS!

Thanks for reading, guys!

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Fables

Spring was always a volatile season in Mist, tucked as they were, in the mountains above Baron and south of Troia's vast forests. Storms were common in the evenings, when the mountain and valley air mixed, and rain poured down upon the village like judgment. One such evening, a storm whipped through Mist, billowing off of the mountains with a terrifying rumble, blanketing the entire village under sheets of rain.

Cuore was sitting huddled by the window of her room, knees clutched to her chest when Rydia opened the door and found her there. The little girl looked up at her, tightlipped and wide-eyed.

"The environment is unstable," Cuore said without prompting.

"It's a storm," Rydia agreed. "It will pass soon enough."

"How do you know?" Cuore asked, skeptically, staring at her with impossibly large eyes.

Rydia came to kneel beside her daughter, smoothing her hair. "Because they always do," she assured her with a smile.

Cuore glanced at her window, and with Rydia by her side, she watched the shutters rattle all through the night as the wind shrieked past the homes and buildings. By morning, the storm had indeed passed, and Cuore pushed herself up from Rydia's lap where she had fallen asleep sometime during the night.

Rydia poked her shoulder and prodded the little girl to follow her out of the house. They were not the first to leave their homes that morning to inspect the damage, as most of the villagers had come out of doors to begin clearing debris.

Many trees had been torn from the ground, and Cuore ran barefoot beneath their exposed roots, jumping into the puddles left behind in the craters the fallen giants had left behind.

"The root systems of these plants is almost as extensive as their branches," she observed to Rydia who was standing nearby speaking to Deirdra, the shopkeeper.

"Yes," Rydia answered after a moment, sparing Cuore a smile. "They drink deep, and spread their arms to the sky."

"Trees don't have arms," Cuore corrected her, looking at Rydia as if the very idea was preposterous.

Deirdra gave Rydia a knowing look, and Rydia laughed. "There's a legend in Troia," she said instead to Cuore. "That sometimes people go alone into the forest and get lost, and when they've lost all hope of being found, they turn into great trees."

"How do they turn into trees?" Cuore protested, interrupting Rydia's story.

Rydia took Cuore by the hand and walked with her through the village, speaking to the other villagers as they passed, and helping where they could along the way. "They go looking for the sun, but there are just too many trees," Rydia finally continued after a long pause. "They can never figure out which way is which."

"Then what do they do?" Cuore asked, looking up at Rydia while struggling to carry a branch onto the wood pile in the village square.

"They try to climb to find higher ground, but the trees' branches are too high off the ground to climb, so they go looking for streams to collect their bearings instead," Rydia answered, helping Tierney the inn keeper, collect roof shingles that had been shorn off by the wind.

"And do they find them?" Cuore wondered, reaching down to pick up a lone shingle in her small hand.

Rydia shook her head, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "By the time they reach the streams, they're so driven by thirst, that they forget they were lost at all. They think, 'if only I could just stay by this stream forever and not worry about where I was headed at all'. And the Troians believe that the Earth Crystal honors their wish, and the people stand tall, feeling the sun on their faces. They raise their arms, until their arms become longer, and longer, and longer-"

"But the growth of bones in humans is halted after a certain age, how could a person's-" Cuore complained, but Rydia cleared her throat.

"Their feet grow roots that drink deep of the stream, and their arms become branches that touch the sky," she explained.

Cuore was mystified. "They touch the sky?" she asked, perplexed. "I didn't realize the sky was a physical entity."

Rydia stared at her daughter with a quizzical grin, and suddenly wondered if Shiva had felt similarly exasperated by all of her own questions. "Some think it is," she replied, ruffling Cuore's hair.

Cuore squinted up at her, unconvinced.

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The following morning after breakfast, and after Cuore's obligatory embrace to Rydia, she was nowhere to be found. She did not appear to lunch, which was unusual, nor was she anywhere to be found by the time Rydia had prepared dinner.

Rydia walked through the center of the village, searching each of Cuore's usual haunts, and eventually asked for help from the village children who were dueling with sticks they had gathered the day before. They paused in their game of imaginary sword-play to shrug and giggle, and Rydia knew this to be a dubious sign whenever it concerned her daughter.

She inquired at the gate and at the elder's home if anyone had seen the little barefooted inquisitor, but no one knew a thing.

It was twilight by the time Rydia found her; in the highest branches of the highest tree just beyond the village wall.

Cuore was clutching onto a slender swaying branch, a look of terror, dismay, and betrayal on her face.

"Cuore!" Rydia called up to her, trying to hide her anxiety. "What are you doing up there?"

"I-I had to find out if it was true!" Cuore answered, nervously licking her lips, as a stray breeze sent her perch bobbing to and fro against the twilit sky.

"If what was true?" Rydia asked, trying to redirect Cuore's fear.

"If the branches really do touch the sky like the legends say!"

Rydia placed her hands disparagingly on her hips and sighed. "Cuore, it's nearly nightfall. Climb down from there!"

But Cuore looked down at her miserably.

"There are insufficient footholds for me to do as you ask!" she cried.

"Climb down like you climbed up, Cuore!" Rydia called up to her.

Cuore glanced treacherously at the branches beneath her and held out her foot, trying to make contact with something solid. After a few failed attempts, she retracted her foot and made herself as small as possible where she clung to the branch.

"If you can't climb down, then I'll come to you," Rydia announced, approaching the trunk of the tree.

"No, don't!" Cuore shrieked down just as Rydia's hand gripped the lowest branch.

"Why not?" Rydia inquired.

"Because you won't be able to carry me down and climb at the same time. We'll both perish!"

Rydia sighed with frustration, gazing up into the leaves. "Cuore, you can't stay up there forever. You can climb down, I'm sure of it."

The girl shook her teal hair vigorously. "I don't trust my feet as much as my hands!" Cuore lamented. "And the odds of breaking bones from a jump at this height are high."

Rydia brought a hand to her forehead and took a deep breath. Sometimes Cuore's logic was more trouble than good. _Sometimes?_ Rydia corrected herself. _Always._

If Cuore could not be persuaded to climb down on her own, Rydia knew of one other way.

Calling upon the Eidolons for trivial matters was not something Rydia typically practiced. They were beings of power she respected and loved, and to call upon them for anything unworthy of their attention, seemed an affront to the relationship they shared. There were, of course, the few exceptions to every rule, and Rydia did occasionally summon her Eidolons to speak of the comings and goings of the Underworld and to glean their wisdom in the matters of magic.

Now, it seemed, was another such time. Rydia would summon aid for one curious, foolish little girl who had mistaken legend for truth out of a misguided need for proof.

She began to chant softly, speaking the words of her childhood so fluidly that she barely paused to consider their meaning. Her summonings were an exercise in ritual and instinct, of being able to thrum the chords of magic that spanned invisibly between her world and theirs. She sought the strength of mountains, the soul of the earth, and a name arrived on her tongue that had lain all but forgotten until her time of need. The true names of the Eidolons, sacred and ancient, were bestowed only to the Summoners with whom they shared a deep and abiding bond. Not all would bend their ears to a Summoner's call, and those that did answered best to one they loved.

Rydia's entreaty extended like a line being cast, and soon enough, she felt a tug on the other end, so different from several months ago-when the Feymarch had been closed to her-and her spirit sang with welcome and gladness. The ground surrounding her shuddered as she felt the one she'd called come forth, rising out of the earth like an island birthed from the sea.

The giant, Titan, rose at her side. He was colossal, and Rydia at her full height, stood only up to his knees.

He wore nothing but tanned animal hide, and his muscles bulged beneath his skin in knotted cords.

Rydia looked up at him and saw his wide, knowing grin. Rydia returned his smile, but with a plaintive expression, looked meaningfully into the branches of the tree. "Do you think you could rescue my poor little girl?" she asked, and Titan nodded, turning his gaze to where Cuore was staring back at him, thunderstruck.

He reached out with one of his massive, boulder crushing hands, and held his palm upward for Cuore to step onto it. She made no move-she was frozen in place, in awe of the Eidolon.

"An Eidolon," she warbled out, full of nerves. "Why would an Eidolon be willing to assist a Maenad? Does it not contradict your sense of loyalty?"

Titan chuckled, and the sound of it rang against the village wall. "I came because my summoner called-I trust her judgment, regardless of what she asks of me."

"You don't-hate me?" Cuore asked.

"You are unknown to me," Titan's ancient voice rumbled. "But if you are Rydia's ward, I will assume your spirit is good and true. Step onto my hand, little one; I assure you, it is safe."

Cuore timidly released her branch with one hand, and then the other, reaching for Titan with all the zeal of a drowning person gripping a line.

Cuore nestled herself into the palm of the giant, and he slowly returned her to the ground, unharmed.

Once she was sure she was standing on solid earth, she immediately ran to Rydia, clutching onto Rydia's green dress and peeking up at Titan with guarded eyes.

"Thank you," Cuore murmured to the Eidolon, and Rydia laughed, smiling brightly at Titan.

"Yes, thank you for humoring me," Rydia added, ruffling Cuore's hair.

The Eidolon bowed his head, and Rydia closed her eyes, speaking the words that would sever their bond. When she opened them again, there was no evidence of the giant who had just stood before them, save for two large footprints imbedded into the muddy ground.

Rydia looked down at Cuore, and the little girl peeked up at her, guiltily.

"I'll never climb trees again," Cuore promised ardently.

Rydia gave her a lopsided exasperated smile. "I have no problem with you climbing trees, Cuore," she assured her. "So long as you're always sure you can climb back down."

"But the story-" Cuore protested.

"Was a story, Cuore," Rydia laughed. "Not all stories are true."

"Then why tell them, if they are false?" Cuore asked.

"Because there are still truths to be found within them," Rydia replied, steering Cuore back to the village.

"I don't understand," Cuore pouted, holding onto Rydia's hand.

Rydia shook her long green hair across her shoulders, fighting a grin. "Well, you _almost _touched the sky today," she informed the little girl beside her.

"No I didn't," Cuore replied.

"No?" Rydia asked. "For a moment, there, I thought you might blow away."

"But that's-"

"Not entirely true?" Rydia countered. "Makes for a good story, though."

"A story? About me?"

Rydia laughed again. "A girl who tried to touch the sky, climbed a tree, and had to be rescued by a giant," she recounted, grinning at Cuore.

Cuore looked up at her quizzically. "That's all true," she admitted.

"Some stories are true, but not all of them, Cuore, remember?" Rydia asked.

Cuore threw her head back with distress. "I still don't understand," she whined.

Rydia led her into their house for the evening, opening the door for the logically impossible girl she called her daughter.

"It's okay, Cuore," she assured her. "I'll help you to understand."

Cuore seemed to brighten at this news. "You mean, you'll tell me more stories?"

Rydia smiled and closed the door, leaving the day and all of its excitement behind them. "Yes, Cuore. In fact, I'll tell you one right now..." ~


	4. Social and Natural Resources

A/N: what happened to WoTC ch25, you ask? Velociraptors. This, for some reason...I was sitting through meetings and just started jotting down notes...and before I knew it, I had the entire chapter figured out. There might be...one or two more, I haven't decided how to space them out yet. This one just makes me chuckle, lol

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Social and Natural Resources

As the months pressed onward and spring blossomed into summer, Rydia noticed a continual change in Cuore's behavior. It was the little things, mostly-like how she had begun to hold her utensils in polite fashion; or her adoption of sandals as tolerable footwear despite her refusal to cease walking on her tip-toes. She had also begun to accept more of the finer details of everyday life. It had been half a year at least since Rydia had acquainted Cuore with the habits of drawing water from the well, heating the water with warm stones, and bathing on a regular basis. Cuore had been intrigued by this at first, as she had come from a sterile environment and claimed no previous need for habit; but since then, had decided she enjoyed this peculiar aspect of the human regimen. Combing her easily tangled hair, however, was an endeavor Cuore had yet to embrace. Rydia took the triumphs with the struggles, but she took comfort in observing that Cuore had begun to act and behave like most children her age-almost.

Cuore was still logical to a fault, particular about rules, and had a hard time enjoying life so long as she insisted on dissecting and analyzing anything that entered her line of sight. Rydia reminded herself on a daily basis, that everyone was a work in progress-including herself-and attempted forbearance on the subject.

It had been a dry summer, which was unusual, and rain had not fallen for several weeks. Adjustments had been made and routines had been altered, as Mist settled in for its third week without precipitation. There was the natural valley mist, of course, but that was long gone by mid-morning, and only formed above the stream that flowed into the valley when the temperature had cooled in the evenings. Gardens were wilting even with frequent watering, the grass had browned, and despite Rydia's skills with magic, it was not the custom of Mist to solve all of its problems in such a manner. Rydia had impressed upon Cuore the importance of stretching resources, especially the village well, during their time of drought. Cuore had taken this lesson to heart, and true to form, had become militant about their water consumption, down to the last drop. Rydia knew that Cuore's measures didn't have to be quite _so _vigilant, but she knew Cuore had made a game of it, and it served her purposes anyway.

They were to use only half a cup of water per handful of grain. Only one bucket of water for hand washing throughout the week. Baths were to be taken only in the stream which ran a mile at least from the village; and only if absolutely necessary, was water to be drawn from the well. When rain finally fell again on the valley, Rydia was not expecting Cuore to react quite the way she did.

Rydia was sitting at the table in the kitchen, staring out the window as the gray clouds billowed in. She remembered a time not too long ago when Cuore had spent the night cowering in fear by the window, waiting for a similar storm to blow over. She smiled at the memory, thinking about how much had transpired in their lives since that day. As she allowed her thoughts to wander, she detected a flicker of movement on the other side of the room, and adjusted her view. She was rewarded with a brief glimpse of bare flesh as Cuore streaked past her into the sitting room, followed by the opening of the door, and its subsequent shutting with a loud creak. Rydia blinked, fully turning in her chair to look at the door. Had she just seen what she thought she'd seen?

Rydia stood so quickly, she nearly knocked over her chair. She rushed to the door, swinging it open as a stiff wind carried rain across the threshold.

She shielded her eyes, peering into the stormy gloom, and saw Cuore in the thick of it, clad in nothing but her own skin. Rydia froze for a moment, too stunned for words, and then cast her eyes in the direction of the other homes. She knew she must not have been the _only _person watching the rain through their windows, but now they were all receiving more than just a display of nature's power. Now they must all surely see Cuore standing in her unfettered glory-a bar of soap clutched in one hand.

Rydia mastered her surprise and stepped out into the rain, covering her eyes from the relentless stinging of the rain. "What are you doing?" she called to Cuore above the din.

Cuore was too busy lathering her arm at first to notice. When she turned and saw Rydia, she beckoned the summoner farther from the house. "If I do this, we will save several buckets of water, and we won't have to walk all to the way to the stream," the girl pointed out, logical as usual.

Rydia hugged her waist, quickly becoming chilled from the wind. "Yes, that's true; but Cuore, we need to talk about behaviors that are appropriate to display outside the house."

"Are you not supposed to bathe in the nude?" Cuore asked, perplexed, hesitantly scrubbing her shoulder as the rain beat against her skin.

"Of course you're suppose to bathe in the nude," Rydia replied, exasperatedly tilting her head to the side as she tried to frame her argument. "But on the other hand, one doesn't run around the village stark naked, either."

"Why not?"

Rydia was now glancing toward the other homes again, her eyes fearful of lamplight in the windows, of peering eyes staring at this entire display. "It isn't something that people do," Rydia answered tersely, hoping that an ultimatum would decrease Cuore's need for discussion. She was wrong.

"Why not? Why wear clothing at all?"

Rydia sighed, a sound lost amid the cacophony of the rain. "Everyone is a mystery, Cuore. Clothing just helps to preserve that mystery-the secrets that everyone bears."

"Secrets?" Cuore asked, her attention now fixed on Rydia. "Is that why Edge wears a mask?"

Rydia grinned at Cuore's observation, considering the ninja's insistence on wearing it; despite them knowing what he looked like without it. "Yes, that's exactly why," she replied.

"I'm not sure why he bothers," Cuore mused disappointedly. "He doesn't hide his secrets very well."

Rydia began to giggle, and then to chuckle, and then laughed-so hard, in fact, that she was doubled over and gasping for air before long. All she had to do was picture Edge's livid expression at such an assessment, his handsome face scandalized, and she couldn't help herself. She peered up to see her daughter's raised, offended brow. The entire situation, Cuore's stubborn defiance against rules she felt were beneath her-it was simply too much.

"Are you ill? I can't decide if your diaphragm is experiencing spasms or if you are laughing," Cuore had to ascertain.

"Laughing, Cuore. Laughing, " Rydia gasped out.

"But you sound like you're crying," Cuore observed, walking closer and gazing up at Rydia with concern.

Rydia straightened, squinting as rain dribbled down her forehead and nose and into her eyes. "Sometimes a person can have more emotion than they know what to do with," she explained.

"More...emotion?" Cuore asked. "But you already have enough, why would you need more?"

Rydia groaned between chuckles. "Cuore, come inside."

"But I'm not clean yet," the girl objected.

Rydia happened to glance again toward the village proper and saw the gray-haired head of the elder poking his nose beyond his front door. His manner was far from obliging and Rydia had already made herself infamous in the months since her adoption of Cuore-she wasn't looking to invite more gossip into her life.

Rydia reached out and steered her daughter by the shoulder to the house. "Cuore, you can get clean inside."

"I don't understand you humans," Cuore lamented. "Don't waste-waste. Appropriate sometimes-inappropriate sometimes. Laughing-but crying. You are far too contradictory. Your social rules are inefficient."

Once Cuore was inside the house, Rydia slipped a blanket from the back of one of the nearest chairs and threw it over Cuore, leaving the little girl with nothing left exposed save for her muddy feet.

Rydia giggled, ruffling Cuore's hair. "Yes, well, there are exceptions to every rule. No more bathing in the rain for you."

Cuore pulled the blanket from her face enough for Rydia to see the much put-upon expression there.

"But I like the rain," Cuore pouted.

Rydia tapped her finger on the top of Cuore's head, amused at how her daughter's opinions on the weather had changed in recent months. "I'll make a deal with you, Cuore. I don't mind if you decide to dance in the rain, play in it, jump in puddles, or do anything of the sort-but from now on, don't go bathing in full view of observers. It isn't, how to put it-polite."

"So, if I dressed myself, would you let me go back into the rain?" Cuore persisted. "It was nice."

Rydia rolled her eyes, not wanting to put a damper on the first thing in which her daughter had shown actual enjoyment. "Yes, I suppose you could. So long as you stay near the house," she called after Cuore who had already sped away to her bedroom for clothing. "And don't get struck by lightning!" she added after a moment.

Cuore's head whipped around the door frame at the comment, her eyes wide as saucers and a bright smile on her lips. "Now _that _wouldbe exciting!" her daughter crooned, disappearing into her room again as Rydia heard the frantic shuffle of clothing being forcefully adorned.

Rydia brought her hand to her forehead, pinching the bridge of her nose. What had she gotten into with this one, she wondered. A little girl who loved to dance in the rain?

Once Cuore was fully clothed, she sped past Rydia in the opposite direction, flinging the door open with a flourish. Rydia watched her daughter spring out of the house, reveling in the torrential downpour.

Rydia stood in the doorway and watched her, hearing an ominous rumble of thunder too close for comfort. She frowned suddenly, as Cuore looked up excitedly at the sky.

Rydia knew her daughter's thirst for knowledge was nigh on unquenchable, but she wouldn't possibly... she really hadn't warned Cuore about the lightning for no reason, after all...


	5. Metamorphosis

A/N: I had to write SOMETHING, at least. So sleep deprived, it's insane, lol. Last chapter and I weren't quite jive-ing, but I also hadn't slept in almost two days, soooooo. This chapter wasn't supposed to get so long, but somehow...

Thanks for reading, guys :)

I'll get back to WoTC soon...

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Metamorphosis

It took several weeks for the gossip to run its course after Cuore's scandalous behavior in the rain. Rydia had made numerous excuses on the little girl's behalf, but the villagers were quick to place blame on Cuore's origins, disregarding that she was only, in fact, a girl. _This _was not something to be quickly forgotten in a village so small as Mist, but Rydia carried on as if there had been no incident at all; shielding Cuore from the more capricious tongues. Cuore did have a point, after all-bathing in a rainstorm was a clever way to utilize resources. If only they could _all _be so frugal and hold so little regard for social propriety...

Since that day, several storms had come and gone, and where once the valley had looked parched and withering, now it was bursting with life. Cuore had taught the other children to jump in puddles and to run between the eaves of houses to determine who could stay dry the longest. The village children worshiped this renegade activity, finding it a novelty, while the parents watched with reservations from the safety of their sitting rooms.

Rydia could only smile and laugh, watching the Maenad girl slowly become something everyone had claimed was impossible-human.

The children were now brave enough to come to the door and ask for Cuore. There were games played in the village square, of which Cuore had become the leader; and elaborate rules were laid down to follow and obey for these bouts of "frivolity". Rydia was dubious that Cuore's methods for making friends would last for very long, but was surprised to find that Cuore was revered; and her games, clever.

Rydia was glad for the distraction, as Cuore being out of the house meant more time for her to teach and to train. Mist was still in sore need of reparation in ways other than infrastructure, and Rydia discovered the summer begin to slip away and the air acquiring a tang of autumn, while she taught dictation and recitation.

On the other hand, Rydia knew it had also been a year since the second great war, and there had been several months' worth of missed reunions and meetings. Cecil had sent out missives in recent days requesting the presence of the heroes of the age at another world gathering, and Rydia leaned against her desk with her head cradled in her hand, as she wondered how she would reply. There was a sheet of parchment before her, a pen poised in her hand, and drying ink stains on her fingers, as she weighed options against each other. Was it wise to bring Cuore to Baron so soon? Besides, there were students in Mist that required training. There were only four individuals who she considered proficient enough to begin learning the ancient summoning rites-the same rites she had been forbidden from teaching to Cuore. But certainly, the talk of finding a successor was more important than her traveling to Baron and leaving her work behind.

And then there was a certain ninja king, and a certain question still lingering between them...she would have to eventually craft an answer to that as well.

Rydia was awfully good at finding excuses, it was in communicating them, that she found her skills to be sorely insufficient.

But at the moment, her procrastination was fueled by the disappointment that she hadn't been given a reason to be parted from her paperwork. She hadn't heard a peep out of Cuore for the better part of an hour, and as with all things concerning her daughter, this was a sign that an intervention was probably necessary. Rydia set down her pen and pushed back her chair, the wooden feet making dull scrapes on the dusty stone floor. She had left the door to her home open, and the light streaming through it was warm and golden, a sure sign that the afternoon was mellowing into evening.

A brief survey of the village square yielded no Cuore, so Rydia followed the old brick pathway around their small home to the garden behind it. Of the few original buildings and structures in Mist, this house and the garden path were among them.

She had spent much of her time wandering in the seventeen years since Zeromus' defeat, but on the occasions she had returned to Mist to help in its rebuilding, or to interact with the villagers who had offered to settle it at her request, she had spent some time, at least, on her garden. Her mother's garden, she amended. Her friends from all across the world had offered her clippings and seedlings and in the seasons the garden had been allowed to grow wild, plants had grown and spread and intermingled so that there was now such a variety, Rydia was loathe to divide the plots.

This had also been one of Cuore's projects over the summer, when she had dared to set foot outdoors, and no longer found the sensation of grass between her toes to be too overwhelming. When Cuore was not with the village children, she could often be found here instead, cataloguing, weeding, and watering.

Despite the drought, the garden beds were none the worse for wear. Rydia wondered if Cuore had cheated with magic, something _else _she was forbidden from performing, or perhaps it was her mother's blessed green thumb continuing to work its magic beyond the grave. Rydia allowed herself and the other villagers to believe the latter, and walked beyond the line of tall sunflowers leaning toward the sun, their petals folded like dog ears, while finches plucked at their seeds.

Lupines and nasturtium encroached on the path, and Rydia trailed her fingers atop the taller blooms. In the back of the house, there was a large crop of butterfly weed, and she recognized Cuore's teal hair in sharp contrast to the bright fuchsia of the blossoms. Cuore was deeply entranced by something, kneeling at the foot of the shrub, but it was the person beside her that made Rydia pause, slowing her steps to a slow and careful crawl.

The woman was wearing a deep blue gown, layered with sheer and flowing cascades of fabric. It shimmered unnaturally in the sun, like it were gossamer laced with dew, and the woman's hair was a maze of braids pinned and braided back into each other until all of her voluminous hair was a long coiled rope resting between her shoulder blades. Rydia tiptoed closer, and heard the woman speaking quietly to Cuore while the youth listened, enraptured.

After a moment, Cuore turned to look over her shoulder, her head tilted as though she had known Rydia was coming. Her daughter's eyes lit up and she leapt to her feet, a slender twig in her hand with a butterfly cocoon adhered to it.

Rydia's eyes went from the twig to her daughter, concerned and curious at having found her with a stranger.

"This is fascinating," Cuore was twittering to her. "I have been following caterpillars for months, watching how they eat, how they move, but _this_," she said, waving the twig in Rydia's face. "It is a caterpillar, but not a caterpillar. I saw one of these open a few days ago and a butterfly came out. How is that possible? How can a caterpillar enter chryostasis and emerge as something else?"

Rydia grinned. "That's what caterpillars do, Cuore. They turn into butterflies."

"One of my most favorite transformations," said the woman in blue, as she turned to stand.

It took seeing Asura's face for Rydia to recognize the queen of the Feymarch in her human guise. She had seen it often enough as a girl, but it had been half a lifetime since then, and faced everyday with a humanity that aged, Rydia sometimes forgot how profound Asura's timelessness was.

"Your majesty," Rydia said, bowing her head. "This is unexpected."

"Yes, I suppose it is," the queen answered, a hesitant smile tugging at her lips.

Rydia spread out her hands, an utterly astonished expression on her face, while Cuore's gaze flitted between them. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Rydia asked.

The queen walked toward her, the cloth of her skirt billowing around her.

"There was a time when you appreciated a good surprise," the queen observed with a note of disappointment.

Rydia raised her brows and sighed. "My last few surprises were not entirely pleasant," she answered, leveling a calm but matter-of-fact gaze on the queen.

"I apologize for that," Asura said, and then looked away, staring at the garden. "You've been busy," she noted with an appreciative smile.

"Yes, I've had to be," Rydia replied tightly.

"Rydia, I'm sorry we turned you away," the queen offered with a weary sigh. "But think of what you've done here, among your own. Among the Eidolons you would have had knowledge and history at your fingertips, but not a life. You were meant for more than archiving the past. You're far too vivacious for that."

Rydia pursed her lips, annoyed at being let down gently again. Of course, receiving praise from Asura was rare, and she felt a brief surge of pride. She mastered her emotions, and returned her attention to Cuore who had been waiting patiently for an explanation.

"Cuore, this is Asura, the queen of the Feymarch," Rydia introduced.

Cuore nodded. "We have already met," the girl replied.

Asura smiled down at her, though her gaze was shrewd. "How very much like your mother," she mused.

Cuore beamed, and trotted off with her stick, searching for a new home for her soon-to-be butterfly. Rydia, in the meanwhile, fell into step beside the queen, and they continued along the path until it ceased being laid with brick and turned to a simple dirt track that led into trees.

Once there, she saw another familiar face. Leviathan was standing in the small wood in human form, rich burgundy robes falling to his feet. His beard was like seaweed, scraggly and long, and his eyes shone like the sea on a clear day.

"Leviathan?" Rydia asked, now severely put-out. "I don't understand-I go months without hearing from you, and then within five minutes, here you both are. In Mist."

Leviathan winked at her, his tanned skin wrinkling around the eyes. "It isn't home, but I admit, I'm fond of it," he said by way of greeting.

Rydia groaned dramatically. "It's somehow unfair, that you can come here to visit, but I can't visit you," she pointed out.

Asura and Leviathan shared a look. "You didn't summon us, and we had reason to believe you needed to see a friendly face," the king explained. "We were, how shall we say, concerned. We wished for you to live among humans, but not to be separated from us completely. You seem to be content, at least."

"I've been busy, but also good," Rydia replied, slightly offended. "Raising a daughter has been a challenge."

"And your homesickness for the Feymarch?" the king pressed.

Rydia sighed, looking off into the trees as she considered the question.

"My purpose has changed. I have a focus here, in Mist," she conceded.

Leviathan smiled. "I am glad to hear it."

Rydia suddenly became suspicious. "You had reason to believe you should come?" she fished.

The queen merely raised her brows and looked away, while they left the wood behind them and returned to the front of the house where Cuore flitted back to their sides. Once they were standing in front of the door, Cuore suddenly bolted off, grinning fiercely.

"Edge!" she cried, approaching the unmasked king as he casually walked through the village gate.

Rydia stood perfectly still, her eyes sliding sideways in the direction of her parents. "He didn't..." she uttered.

Asura shook her head. "Oh, Rydia, you really don't give that man enough credit."

She looked back at Cuore who had just been lifted up in Edge's arms as he spun her around while she giggled. Why was it, that girl took _months _to crack a smile for her, yet she smiled and laughed the instant she saw Edge? Her jealousy was quickly replaced by sheer amusement.

She was glad to see him again, and she and Cuore could use the entertainment. Edge had just set Cuore down and looked up at her, the well worn laugh lines showing around his eyes. He looked good, and Rydia waved at him, helplessly shaking her head.

"Edge, now we can play all day!" Cuore was saying as they walked closer.

Edge grinned cautiously as he looked down at the Maenad. "So long as you promise not to use your magic," he warned.

Cuore looked positively devious. "I suppose," she compromised.

The two of them finally stood beside Rydia and the king and queen. Edge gave her a winsome smile, and Rydia's heart fluttered unexpectedly.

"Rydia," he greeted her.

"Edge," she replied, feeling heat rise to her face.

Cuore had grabbed Edge's hand and was tugging it anxiously. "At last, the two of you can speak," she announced happily.

Rydia looked down at her daughter and narrowed her eyes, but Cuore was implacable.

Rydia sighed, laughing, and gestured to the house. "I suppose it's been long enough," she admitted, and followed them all inside.


	6. Shooting Stars

A/N: At last—the final chapter ;)

I know I said I wouldn't write TAY fic, but I think Cuore may have won me over, at least in part. Not to say that I will be continuing TAY fic, since...it's already spoken for, lol. But it was good fun.

Plus, everyone needs a few cavities once in a while. Or just...tooth rot.

ALSO. I may have been watching Gilmore Girls...if that's any indication XP

Enjoy!

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Shooting Stars

The king and queen visited for a few hours only, and content upon seeing their foster daughter healthy and well cared for, they left her with warm wishes and loving embraces. But of course, not before Asura had let slip the fact that it had been Edge who had invited them in the first place. It was a sly, motherly smile that Asura had given Rydia before the king and queen dismissed themselves to the Feymarch.

"This was all your doing," Rydia accused later, sorting through the papers on her desk while Edge leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

"You weren't corresponding, and to be honest, I was wondering if you had forgotten about us-about me," he added as a quick aside, sounding hurt.

Rydia twirled around, waving a sheaf of paper in his direction. "I've been busy-I told you that already."

Edge adopted an offended expression. "Too busy to spare a moment to write a note? Not even a haiku?" he quipped.

She set the papers down with a snap and walked toward him, poking his chest with her finger while stepping around. "You and I both know I have absolutely no poetic bone in my body, so stop complaining. I was doing you a favor," she retorted, walking into the hallway behind him.

He followed her, keeping step at her elbow. "You were doing me no favors by making me wait on tenterhooks for any form of communication. Did you even consider replying?"

Cuore appeared in front of them, hopping out from around the corner. "She missed you," she informed Edge, matter-of-factly.

Rydia pursed her lips at Cuore, feeling betrayed. She caught Edge's bemused expression, and frowned. "Of course I missed you," she said in her own defense. "I just-"

"Couldn't find time to pick up a pen?" Edge queried, reaching out for her hand and examining the ink stains there. "A likely story."

Rydia snatched her hand away and cleared her throat. "Why did you show up now? This doesn't have anything to do with Cecil's latest summon, does it?"

Edge spared her a look of righteous indignation. "I'm offended that you would think Cecil has me in this region of the world on political technicality; or that I would use such an excuse to pay you a visit."

"Offended because you're so easily figured out, or offended that you're under obligation?" Rydia bantered back, grinning mischievously.

"Touché," Edge replied with a wry grin of his own.

Cuore stood between them, looking up, and tried to get their attention by balancing on her tip-toes.

"She said she missed you, at least," Cuore continued, picking up where she left off.

"You missed me?" Edge repeated, looking at Rydia pitifully.

Rydia groaned and reached out to swat his arm. "Stop doing that."

"What?"

"That _thing _that you do," she argued, unable to settle on the right word.

Edge raised his brows suggestively. "That _thing-_that I _do," _he said, drawing out the last syllable as if savoring it.

Rydia narrowed her eyes. "Keep this up, and I'm evicting you."

"But if you do that, you might not see him for many months, and you'll make more of those sad breathing sounds," Cuore protested, her expression pathetic.

"_You," _Rydia countered, pointing and glaring at her daughter, "are being unsurprisingly obstinate."

"It's only logical," Cuore explained. "Is this one of those strange human rituals where you say one thing and mean another? I am not entirely certain of the ramifications of the word 'love', but the villagers all seem convinced that this is the malady you are suffering from."

Rydia felt her face turn at least three different shades of red, while Edge stared at her, shocked into silence.

The pause that followed was long and awkward.

Rydia was having a hard time meeting Edge's eyes, and as a result, she couldn't decide if he was avoiding her gaze as well or staring straight at her.

"Well? Do you love him or don't you?" Cuore persisted.

"Cuore," Rydia warned.

"_Well?" _

Rydia glimpsed at Edge and saw him tilt his head and pout at her in such a way that made her unable to contain a giggle. "I'm not sure who's worse between the two of you," she complained.

Edge took hold of her hand again, and she felt a jolt run up her arm.

"Do you?" he asked quietly.

Rydia wanted to wiggle out of this just like she wanted to wiggle out of responding to Cecil's correspondence, but his grip on her hand was firm and left no room for wiggling.

She swallowed, her throat suddenly parched. "I—"

Edge frowned at her. "How long are we really going to keep having this conversation?" he asked. "We've already been having it for over seventeen years."

"That is a long conversation," Cuore frankly observed.

"You've backed me into a corner," Rydia protested uncomfortably.

"Asking you a direct question is backing you into a corner?" he asked.

"_You _didn't actually ask me anything directly," she pointed out.

Edge narrowed his eyes, annoyed. "_Do _you love me?" he said more definitively, pulling her a few inches closer.

Rydia chewed on the inside of her lip. "I am not going to go so far as to say that what I feel is _love _per say, but I certainly feel a certain..._fondness _for you."

Edge's expression became flat. "A certain _fondness," _he repeated slowly.

Rydia was not unaware of the disappointed tone in his voice, and thought she would melt on the spot. "What I meant was—"

Edge let go of her hand and took a step back. "What you meant was, that it was a bad idea for me to come," he said mournfully, turning toward the door.

Cuore reached out to stop him before Rydia could even move. Edge looked down at the Maenad, perplexed.

"She is not being completely honest with you," Cuore said with a put-upon expression.

Rydia fidgeted, realizing that she would now have to reply. "Yes-_yes_," she said, exasperatedly. "I—love you."

Edge's grin was quick, and Rydia felt instantly deceived. "Never mind, I take it back," she fumed.

"Rydia—if the not the most indecisive person in the world, most certainly the fastest," he retorted.

"You planned this so that I would _have _no choice," she argued.

His grin became devious as he took her hands, both of them this time, and pulled her close. "And about damn time, too," he said.

"You invited my parents in an attempt to win me over, didn't you?" she accused, though she was finding it difficult not to stare straight at him, relieved she had finally said what she had meant to say for years beyond count.

"It worked, didn't it?" he asked.

"How long are you staying?" Cuore interrupted them, and they both looked down at her. "After all, now that you've both settled the unresolved matter between you—"

"You weren't kidding when you said she was direct," Edge mused.

"How long _are_ you staying?" Rydia asked instead, echoing her daughter's query.

"How long am I welcome?" Edge returned.

Rydia grinned warmly, but was too uncertain of her reply to give him a true answer.

Cuore noticed her plight and continued. "-Because the villagers were saying that stars are going to fall from the sky tonight. I want to see this for myself, don't you?"

Rydia blessed her daughter's quick thinking. "She's right," she informed Edge. "Every year on this night, there are star showers. The skies are clear—it's perfect weather for it."

"I'd like that," Edge replied, winking at Cuore.

Happy to be obliged, Cuore pulled them both out of doors and into the cool evening air. The other villagers were standing in the village square already, but the three of them found a spot away from the others.

Edge lifted Cuore onto his shoulders so she could better see the sky, and they waited. At first the star shower was sporadic, but after several minutes, the sky lit up with curtains of shooting stars. It was like every light in the heavens was shining, and Rydia gazed up, wondering how many wishes were being made and granted this very night.

Edge pointed up at a particularly bright shooting star and Cuore watched it disappear behind the peaks of the mountains to the north.

"I think that one fell all the way to the ground—I'll bet we could find it if we went looking," Edge said, patting Cuore's knee.

"I wonder if they'll be happy here—if they'll find a home like I did," Cuore said with utter sincerity.

Edge glanced quizzically at Rydia, who was looking at the girl in wonderment. Cuore had never said anything so sentimental or illogical in the year she'd been living in Mist.

"The shooting stars?" Edge clarified. "What do you mean?"

"We come from the same place, after all," Cuore answered.

"Cuore," Rydia said at last, tears glistening in her eyes.

The little Maenad child looked at her placidly. "Your eyes are leaking again," she announced.

Rydia laughed, wiping the corners of her eyes. "I'm happy, Cuore."

"Is this another occasion where you have too many emotions to express?" Cuore asked.

Edge jostled Cuore to get her attention. "Some things have more than one meaning, Cuore."

"That's what Rydia keeps saying—so if I can find a home, certainly the shooting stars can, too," Cuore continued.

"You think of this as your home?" Rydia asked, her voice wobbling with emotion.

"Aren't you my family?" Cuore inquired, confused. "Wherever you are, I am home."

Edge glanced sideways at Rydia, and reached out to take her hand, smiling. Rydia laughed and cried all over again.

"Yes, Cuore, we're family," Rydia conceded.

"All of us," Cuore corrected her.

Rydia grinned at Edge, and gasped when he tugged her close so that her head was resting against his chest, and his arm was wrapped around her shoulders.

"All of us," she admitted, and the three of them continued to watch the sky until the last of the stars lit up the night. ~

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A/N: The end of the mini-saga! Moonclaw, I hope you enjoyed your gift!fic :)

For the rest of you—I hope you enjoyed this quirky little story, and thank you for reading!

Until next update...

~Myth


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